Old Town Konoha
by KINGlena
Summary: Modern Day AU. Finding individuals with chakra control is rare and those who do are enrolled in the secret government controlled Konoha academy to train as a Ninja to join the Elite Forces and Intelligent Agency for the government. With secret wars waging & Orochimaru scheming how will a young Sakura navigate this unforgiving landscape? rated T for now can change
1. Chapter 1- Preamble to Death

**Hello there!**

** This is a story I found the other day while clearing files out of my computer. It is from a few years ago when I used to write often, before I took a hiatus. I went back through and edited it to the best of my ability. I remember where I was going with the story, since I had only written the one chapter (that I am now splitting into 2), and thought it would be fun to continue. This story will come second to my current Fic entitled ****_In the End. _****It will be updated monthly instead of weekly like the other one. **

**The first chapter is to set up to the story and the second will contain more detail as to how this knew shinobi system works. It was originally inspired by a binge watching marathon of X-men. I thought it would be cool if in the modern day Konoha, where chakra control was rare and unique; those who possessed it would have to attend a secret academy with those like them. Though instead of hiding from the government and the larger population they are training to join it yet kept secret from the public. Thus the populous is unaware of the existence of Shinobi and those with high level security clearance would be the only ones privy to it. **

**This Fic is rated T for language and violence at the moment though this will most likely change to M **

**I do not own Naruto. **

**Reviews both appreciated and welcome **

**_Important:_ when I originally wrote this I was under the impression the age difference between Sakura and Kakashi was a little over 10 years. I know now it is not but for the sake of this story I am keeping it. If you can't handle my other fic has their correct age difference of 14 years.**

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**Chapter 1**

** Preamble to Death**

Kakashi Hatake was restless.

He had been on this mission for exactly three weeks and had tracked his target through 5 counties. Leading him to the spot in which he has sat for the last two days; starring at a huge facility out in the middle of a field in the middle of a valley in the Southeast province of The People's Republic of Iwa.

Kakashi's current target was the infamous Orochimaru, who once headed the research and development department for Fire Country's Elite forces. That was until Orochimaru betrayed them10 years ago, fleeing with the country's secrets and technology to sell.

Their current Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi-sama has been tracking Orochimaru for years, only ever following a small paper trail and empty past used safe houses. The man was a ghost, no one had actually seen him in 7 years and if it wasn't for the report that showed up on Sarutobi-sama's desk 3 weeks ago no one would have still.

The report stated a sighting of Orochimaru in the Democratic States of the Wave. Where he was seen with the country's leading scientist Mishi Yama. Before this sighting there were only whispers of his existence; deals done, information exchanged but he was never present. Some said he had died and the only thing left was the Organization called Oto he spent the last 15 years creating.

Now that he was in the open for the first time in 7 years; a lot of questions and concerns were being raised; _Why now? What were his plans? Why Wave country? _Sarutobi-sama was unsettled. Knowing he would not stay above ground for long, he sent his best tracker and all-around skilled Jonin of both the Elite forces and The Intelligent Agency to apprehend Orochimaru; Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi had arrived in the Democratic States of the Wave only 27 hours after the initial sighting but he was already too late. Orochimaru had already fled with Mishi Yama, Wave country's intelligence, and an experiment that the Elite Forces (shinobi) of the Wave would not disclose to him.

_At least the Wave country was not in league with Orochimaru as feared; just their top Scientist. _Kakashi sarcastically reflected.

Mishi Yama was a 30 year old female civilian that led the research lab for the Wave elite forces or E.F. and intelligence agency or I.A.. This was rare for a civilian to do; as it usually was controlled by a shinobi; but Wave could not deny her skills and intelligence and thus allowed her the positon. She had held it for the past 3 years; during which time she made great strides in chakra application and research; though she herself did not possess chakra she was one of the best to understand it.

Though Wave country Shinobi would not tell Kakashi what Mishi had taken with her when she left with Orochimaru, they did inform him that she acted alone. That one week ago she presented the ideal to the council of joining with Orochimaru to further the Waves power and influence only to be shut down and investigated. Mishi fled later that week with Orochimaru, the investigation found she had been working with him for 2 years and that he had been hiding within Wave for the past year.

Kakashi could see how angry the E.F. were and knew the betrayal ran deeper than just Mishi Yama. The Wave was collecting up all the pieces and hoped to avoid any skirmishes over this with Fire country thus they would inform Kakashi and his Hokage of all relevant information and would be in contact. With that Kakashi followed on Orochimaru's trail with the few clues the Wave gave him.

Three weeks later he was up a tree holding a set of binoculars staring at an empty bio facility but for some reason his gut would not let him move on. Kakashi had come across a few empty facilities and safe houses over the last three weeks and had moved on after a few hour investigation but this one was different; the barrier seal was too intricate for him to break. The trail also had ended here; everything was pointing to Orochimaru being inside that building and yet after 2 days of recon Kakashi had nothing.

Kakashi shifted slightly in his perch adjusting the binoculars and checking his watch which read 14:00. He decided he would give it till sunset before he called in for official backup to watch the place so he could attempt to find the trail again. He knew calling to break the seal would be futile as only a fuinjutsu master could and Konoha only had one and they were needed to keep up the barriers to protect the city.

Then he saw it; a flash of pink. Kakashi was surprised to see a young girl with pink hair in the field before the building, seemingly appearing from nowhere. His wait was over and he knew it; his gut had never failed him. Kakashi took another look at her; she was probably around 12, maybe 11 since she was pretty short. She wore some variant of ninja gear with a Katana strapped to her side. She looked bored but alert; constantly scanning the area.

Kakashi did not strike; not yet. Not until he grasped the situation better. She looked like she was waiting and Kakashi hoped it was for Orochimaru. Then he heard it, the distinct sound of cars coming up from the 3 km long dirt road behind him.

He listened hard; it sounded like two SUVs and by the way the tires dug into the ground more, they must be carrying something heavy or most likely full of large men. Out of his peripheral he saw the girl perk up but stay in a defensive stance.

_This must be what she was waiting for. I need to take stock of the situation to see how I should approach. If Orochimaru is present I must not let him escape. _Kakashi thought.

Within 2 minutes the two black SUVs had rolled up to the facility. As the doors opened to the cars, 8 men filed out of the second car; all dressed in reinforced suits.

_Shinobi_ Kakashi thought.

Out of the front car 6 men filed out dressed the same as the other car but one seemed to be larger and barking orders.

_Their commander. _

Then Kakashi saw her, Mishi Yama, she exited out of the passenger side of the first car and wandered up to the pinkette. Kakashi waited; the cars were empty now as 10 of the men walked over to the facility quickly making the release pattern for the barrier that Kakashi made sure to memorize.

_Orochimaru is not in the cars, then is he in the building like I originally thought? I can't make a move until I am sure. _

Kakashi waited; devising several plans depending on a few varying factors. The 10 men that approached the facility had been busy strategically placing explosive tags while 4 of the men remained at the cars ready for any outside threats. This settled it for Kakashi; Orochimaru was not present; not in the building nor the cars.

_Fuck! _He mentally berated himself. _Two days wasted…. Think, think, think! I can't come back empty handed; not when I was that close. The closes anyone has been in years. _

Kakashi sat there running through his plans. _Ah! I got it. The answer was their the whole time: Mishi Yama. She will lead him back to Orochimaru. _

Kakashi looked down and over the group from his high perch in the tree. He would start with the cars; frying their engines, making escaping with them impossible. The four by the cars would not be that difficult he reasoned, not with surprise on his side. Several well placed Chidori in combination with a sand pit jutsu should take care of it, and any who got away would be taken down with his kunai.

It was the 10 men by the building that would cause a bit more issue but it was not impossible. Kakashi would set the explosive tags off before the men had a chance to get away from the blast zone trapping them with his water wall and thus insuring the flames would not reach him.

It was the young pinkette that was the wild card; just by his observation she looked about Chunin level and probably relied solely on kenjutsu (swordsmanship). The explosion should throw her off giving him enough time to capture Mishi. Kakashi made 2 clones and then got to work.

* * *

Everything went off without a hitch. All 14 men were down within minutes leaving a very frightened looking Mishi and the little pinkette. The pinkette had stayed strong and when the first man hit the ground she had already entered a fighting stance in front of Mishi to block all attacks on her.

Kakashi was impressed; the girl barely blinked at the slaughter in front of her. By the time the water wall and explosions went off Kakashi saw the shift in the pinkette; she must have realized it was a lost cause; that the men would be defeated so she grabbed Mishi and made a break for it to the woods in the opposite direction of the dirt road.

The pinkette tugging Mishi –san along had made it to the tree line, a half a kilometer away, before Kakashi was able to pursue. The Commander was S-class and had given him more trouble but eventually met his fate. Kakashi was in pursuit catching up to them within minutes since the pinkette was stuck lugging around a frightened civilian.

The little girl stopped as Kakashi neared throwing Mishi-san behind her and drawing her long Katana. She was resolved to fight and Kakashi saw no harm in amusing her.

She was fast and agile. Kakashi was again impressed. The pinkette had Jonin level taijutsu and kenjutsu skills. Orochimaru had trained her well.

The fighting had been going on for about five minutes. He had stood back and let his clone test out her skills when he sensed a shift, the gir'ls movement had been swift before but now they were choppy.

_Fuck! A genjutsu. She must have known it was a clone and went after me. When did I get so damn complacent?_

Kakashi thought back on it, she had 2 minutes on him based on how the fight had developed. He quickly released and followed after the pinkette. He was glad she was slowed down by Mishi-san otherwise her speed would put her at an advantage.

_The little pinkette is a lot more skilled then I thought. Sensei used to joke hubris would be my downfall, damn he was right. I have never underestimated anyone like this before. Her skill level is still manageable by mine so it is not that big of an issue. I just need to stop playing with my prey and just finish this. _

_Though if we met under different circumstance I would want to test some more boundaries of her skills. Her genjutsu, though simple, the execution makes it Jonin level as well. That leaves her ninjutsu yet untested but if I can glean anything off of this pinkette it is her tracking abilities are her weak spot based on how easy it is to follow her. _

Kakashi had caught up to her and Mishi-san again and the fight resumed. This fight Kakashi made sure to not go as easy on her but he still did not use all of his advance knowledge and skill. Though the sharingan had been revealed making the girl falter for a moment.

Kakashi took advantage of the opening; when at the last moment she did four backflips away from him to the ever frightened Mishi-san all while avoiding multiple kunai. One of the kunai that was deflected by the pinkette's armored boots made its way into Mishi's thigh. The woman screamed.

"That's enough" Kakashi spoke sternly. "There is no way of getting out of this, just lay down your weapon hand yourself and Mishi-san over to me."

The girl looked troubled; he could see her going over her options, working out strategy but before he could see her reach an answer Mishi interrupted her thoughts.

"Sakura!" Mishi wailed in pain and frustration. The pinkette now dubbed Sakura turned to allow for Mishi to be in her peripheral all the while still looking at Kakashi. The woman continued to speak but in no language Kakashi knew; he still memorized what was said with his sharingan to show the coding department later.

As Mishi spoke in a hushed and forced soothing tone the Pinkette stiffened, several unnamed emotions filtered over her face with the last one being resignation. DuringMishi's speech Kakashi had made a clone and it was currently sneaking up behind the two women that were facing him. Kakashi new this was about to be over.

Right before the clone could make his stealth recovery of Mishi, Sakura with lightning speed jumped behind the kneeling Mishi, her katana drawn. With a slight nod from Mishi the young girl cut Mishi's head off. Blood sprayed and the head rolled to the ground. As the body began to drop the pinkette wasted no time continuing her escape.

Kakashi was stunned for a second. His clone had grabbed Mishi's body.

Kakashi motioned to his clone, "Stay with the body I will go get the girl." The clone only nodded.

Now the chase was on, the girl no longer weighed down by Mishi was moving at breakneck speed towards the mountains ahead. Kakashi was pissed; pissed at himself for letting things happen like this. The only kernel of hope was the girl's stealth abilities were less advanced then her other. Not to say that they still were pretty impressive.

Kakashi tracked her and finally caught her at the ascent up to the mountains, a terrain he did not want to enter in this chase.

The girl cursed loudly as she knew he had her. She was visibly tired and low on chakra. A quick but ultimately futile fight began and ended with her in chakra restraints.

"Fuck I was so close. If I had only gotten within the range I could have lost you. No one can track in there." she bellowed

Kakashi chuckled and gave a little eye crinkle, "That's not true young lady, even in there I could track you." He thought for a moment rubbing his masked chin. "Maybe with your tracking and stealth skills you couldn't; but I definitely could."

The girl looked pissed. "What do you mean "my tracking skills?" I am a fine tracker."

"If I had to give you a report card on this fight your Tai, Gen, and Kenjutsu were all A's." The girl smiled a little smugly.

Kakashi continued, "but your stealth and tracking skills a C possibly B-." now she was fuming.

Kakashi sighed, "Don't take it personally kid, we all can't be good at everything, plus you would have to have at minimum advance Jonin tracking skills to even think about losing me as a tail."

The girl clamed up thinking over what he said. Kakashi tried several more attempts to get her talking but she wouldn't budge. She wouldn't answer any question about who she was or what she was doing here and where Orochimaru was; nothing.

So uncharacteristically of Kakashi he continued to talk as he could tell it annoyed her. They were about 12 km to the Northwest of the blown up facility; 8 km from Mishi's body and 65 km from his car that was parked on the Iwa and Kusa boarder since he had to sneak across into the The People's Republic of Iwa.

_Man this going to be a long trek back to the Land Rover with this hostile girl and a corpse. _Kakashi thought.

* * *

As they neared Mishi's body and Kakashi's clone he could see the girl clam up. She had stopped moving completely, her face pale. Kakashi had to tug on the chakra rope tied tightly around her neck that led to his hand to get her to start walking again. Kakashi had tied the girl up by bounding her hands while restricting movement in the legs. It was the best knot for the situation but did slow them down.

"Scared at your own handy work there, Sakura?" Kakashi jested.

The girl went from pale to red and fuming within a second, breaking her long eye contact with the severed head.

"How do you know my name?" she said in the most threatening voice she could muster.

Kakashi sighed; he had finally gotten her talking he needed to take advantage of this. He pointed down at the head of Mishi.

"Mishi-san called you that before you loped off her head." Sakura was stunned for a moment at the way he simplistically stated it. Despite that Kakashi continued, he knew how to get her talking he had to guilt her.

"Never expected a little thing like you to turn on your comrade that was slowing you down to get away." He spoke with a bored and blunt tone.

Sakura spoke, her voice just above a whisper. "That wasn't… that wasn't.." She trailed off

"Ah I see." Kakashi responded "You wanted to stop her from talking too. I get it; two birds, one stone. You can get away and still keep your secrets."

This time her face became hard as if realizing what she was doing "Yes that's it. I couldn't have her slowing me down. She was a liability."

Kakashi realized he had pushed too far, she may talk now but he doubt he would get what he needed. He needed to come at this from a different angle.

"hmm.. that seems harsh for a little thing like you to say. By the look of it you two got along."

Sakura's eyes danced with a few different emotions. She finally settled on one. "No, not at all. You see she was the only one who knew where Orochimaru is and I couldn't have her talking. That's why you're here right; for Orochimaru? Well I killed the one person to know where he is so you might as well just kill me." She finished feigning smugness.

Kakashi hmmd for a moment before responding, trying to sound as detached and disinterested as possible. "Well that's quite unfortunate. Which begs the question; if Mishi was the only one to know where Orochimaru was; why were you running to the Western mountains?"

"Easy. To get away from you." She offered.

"Awe yes to escape me. So let's say you did; then what?"

"I'd wait. I know those mountains like the back of my hand; I could've lost you."

"hmmm that may be, but you see if you are waiting that means someone will have to need you enough to come pick you up."

She froze realizing her mistake. "Not necessarily…" She knew she was gripping at straws now.

Kakashi interjected. "You see I don't think you killed Mishi because you wanted to. She asked you to. Mishi wanted you to get away and it wasn't over any sentimentality that you are just a kid. It's because you're important enough to Orochimaru to warrant it."

Sakura was frozen again; trying to out reason him was futile but the look in her eyes said she would try. "Interesting theory but I hate to tell you that it's wrong. No one is coming to look for me; I am disposable like all of the people Orochimaru uses." She finished, a sad glint in her eyes.

"Disposable eh? Aren't we all in some way but you aren't; well at least not yet." Kakashi just needed to coax a little more out of her.

"Fine. Let's pretend you're right even though you're not. You think you're going to wait around for a week or two for Orochimaru to show up you have another thing coming. If anything he will send one of his disposable lackeys to investigate.

"He won't know anything and you will be back to square one. No one of any importance will come looking and when they keep not returning he will just send someone stronger till you are dead." She countered.

"That seems plausible if what you are saying is true. But I was thinking along the lines of going home and sleeping in my own bed and getting some delicious miso soup. So I might as well take you back and hand you off to someone more capable then me at… conversations." He finished with an eye crinkle. Sakura had never seen a smile look so empty and threatening.

"I told you I. DON'T. KNOW. ANYTHING." Her voice full of frustration.

"Maybe, maybe not." Was all Kakashi offered. "Now to take care of this body and get us back to Fire."

Sakura became quiet, her eyes drifting over to Mishi. Kakashi handed the rope connected to Sakura to his clone while he took out a scroll to seal Mishi's body in; Sarutobi-sama would want to examine it.

After sealing the body away he took out his satellite phone to report back to Fire. Usually a regular phone would suffice but in The People's Republic of Iwa all cell service was blocked.

The People's Republic of Iwa and The Democratic States of Earth were the 2 nations left from the originally earth country of olden times. Around 60 years ago communism vs. capitalism drove the large Earth country to split in half. The Easter Earth which bordered Ishi (Stone) and Ame (Rain) and by extension Suna became the Democratic States of Earth; a capitalistic parliament system. While the portion of earth that bordered Kusa (Grass) and Taki (Waterfall) became The People's Republic of Iwa, a communistic nation.

Kakashi dialed the Hokage tower channel 5 in order to get straight to the Hokage himself. Each large nation's Elite Forces (shinobi forces) tended to have their own satellite as well as phone towers. The lines were secured but since most shinobi were more than a little paranoid , all calls were spoken in code.

After speaking to Sarutobi-sama and informing him of the current situation Kakashi was ordered to return to Fire with the girl and corpse for further debriefing while an Anbu tracker team would be sent out to scour the area.

Now for the long trip home. Kakashi cracked open a special energy drink made by the research department. Bile already rising at the thought of the taste he fought past it to take a swig. A 7 hour run to the car plus a 30 hour drive back to Konoha; he was going to need all the energy he could get.

* * *

Five hours out of Konoha and Sakura had stayed quiet the whole ride; no attempt to escape, just resignation to her fate. Kakashi was glad for this; he was in no mood to deal with a noisy captive.

There was a loud bang and the car began to serve as the back left tire blew; being a shinobi Kakashi had defensive driving training and was able to handle the car with ease. He looked back at Sakura that was in the back row behind the passenger seat both bound and blindfolded. She hadn't even made a move since the tire blew.

Kakashi made a clone to watch her then went to the trunk to grab the spare tire. He had the car jacked and had removed the ruined tire, noting the well placed nail in it, one that after many miles of driving had finally worn the tire down. There was a poof as his clone was destroyed and the breaking of glass as the little pinkette tried to make her escape.

Kakashi had to admit that she had bided her time well and the escape was planned decently but alas it would fail. Letting out a sigh he quickly caught and neutralized her.

"Shit… well a girls gotta try; you know?" Sakura stated matter-of-factly.

Kakashi gave out a small laugh. " I guess she does; cutting it close with the nail. A few more hours and it wouldn't have worked."

"It's all about striking a balance between not being obvious and still managing. It was a bit close though." Her vibrant green eyes full of confidence were staring into his lone eye.

A small chuckle escaped him. He picked Sakura back up securing her in the car before placing the spare tire on the car. They were back on the road within 10 minutes.

"It is a little chilly in here." Sakura stated.

"Should have thought about that before you busted the window. Kotetsu is going to be pissed, this is the 3rd car I have damaged in the last 2 months."

"Ouch you could blame it on me." She coyly offered.

"You know for a 9 year old you are quite coy." He chuckled back at her.

"Hey old man I am about to be 11. What are you anyways like 40?" She shot back.

"Well there. I will have you know I will be celebrating my 22nd birthday this coming September."

"Well ain't that fucking peachy. What damage happened to your hair to make it white and your face to make you cover it? While we are at it." Sakura was letting the snarkines take over to cope with her fear, they were getting closer to Konoha and she was uneasy.

"Do you kiss your parents with that mouth? Your ten not 40, so stop talking like you are. _And_ for your own personal knowledge I was born with **_Silver _**hair. My face; well I don't want to make you fall deeply in love with me." He cheekily responded.

There was no snarky comeback making Kakashi worried. He used the mirror to look back at her. She was slumped over more; her pink hair falling into her face.

"You okay there kiddo?"

"In two weeks…" She spoke softly all traces of the snarky confident girl from just moments ago was gone.

"What did you say?"

"In two weeks I am about to be 11 but I doubt I will make it." She continued speaking softly but clearly. "You will deliver me to Konoha and I will be tortured and when you have gotten all you can I will be disposed off. If I can resist the torture for more than two week then I will be 11.

"But is it really worth it at that point? To be beaten and bloodied just so I can be 11?" Her voice was hollow.

Kakashi was taken aback; how was he supposed to answer that. "You never know what the future may hold." He offered; knowing full well how pointless that statement was.

She let out a humorless laugh. "I think it is safe to say I have a pretty decent idea then most at this juncture in life, Ojisan"

"Hmm possibly." He supplied; ignoring her slight against him. Kakashi was the master of non-answer answers. The rest of the 5 hour drive was silent.

Sakura took that time to prepare for her impending fate. She was young but Orochimaru had readied her for an outcome like this; trained both her body and mind. She began to focus on the synapses firing in her hippocampus trying to damage what she could; to diminish any portion of her memory but she had no chakra.

The ropes had prevented her from having any; she would not be able to block anything off without chakra. The only way now was to inflict physical damage to that portion of the brain. She would have to wait till she was out of the car; to have an "accident". No matter what she could not let any information leak to the country of Fire.

TBC

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	2. Chapter 2- Incinerate

**Hello,**

**I changed up the summary a bit; I want to convey this story is very much about Sakura's struggles in this new ninja landscape. In later (very later) chapters romance will occur. Though my favorite pair is KAKASAKU I have decided to see where the story leads though there will be A LOT of Kakashi and Sakura moments.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, they mean a lot to me! Also a few people had some good guesses about Sakura's relationship with Orochimaru.**

**I DO NOT OWN NARUTO **

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**\- Incinerate -  
**

As they drove up to Konoha, Kakashi was relieved and shaken; glad to be back but confused as to the girl in the back seat. In the past he has had to kill children but it never sat well with him. Especially with the little pinkette, she was talented and her death would be a waste.

_No that wasn't completely right. _He thought. _To get that way, that talented at so young her life must have been hell. Endless training and with Orochimaru at that. The kid has probably broken every bone in her body, has probably gone through trials most Jonin twice her age haven't. _

Kakashi just felt bad for her. He was trying not to pity her but he couldn't help it. Sighing he looked out the window to see Old Town Konoha fast approaching, this was the home of the Intelligence agency.

The town of Konohagakure was over 400 years old with a rich history of being a shinobi village; or to the general populous "mythology" of being a Shinobi village. The town was now a business center and hub for Governmental agencies; namely The Intelligence Agency or I.A. for short.

Konohagakure, home to both ninja and civilians alike was split into 2 main parts: Old Town Konoha and New town. Old Town Konoha was where the shinobi lived and worked. It was home to the Hokage Tower, Konoha Academy, Academy dorms, The Shinobi Hospital, ninja housing, Clan housing, and training grounds. Old town was completely blocked off from those in new town by a street known as "The Great Divide."

The Great Divide was a wall formed from 2 story shop/housing lined compactly together blocking off old town. There was only one break within the shops and that was where the only gate into Old Town existed and it was manned 24/7. The shops and housing itself were all occupied by ninjas and monitored with cameras, state of the art sensory equipment, and barrier ninjutsu.

Driving into the large green gates that have stood over 400 years, Kakashi was quick to check in with the guards before driving to the underground garage where Ibiki and the Interrogation department would meet him.

He could feel the shift in her chakra; she was agitated but was attempting to hide it. He just hoped they didn't have him sit through the integration. Kakashi wished to walk away from this situation but knew he wouldn't; hell he would probably insist on being at the integration.

* * *

When Sakura exited the car she was already underground; she was surrounded by men in drab grey uniforms. She knew this was her only chance to damage her memory but the Leaf nin left her little options to do so.

Kakashi had gotten her from her seat in the car and as he walked her over to the awaiting men, Sakura decided to trip him and in the tumble procure a senbon; nothing like senbon-labotomy (well different area of the brain but her sarcastic mind liked the way it sounded).

As she went to execute her plan she should have known his reflexes would not allow it. He simply patted her on the back and whispered a "nice try."

_The smug bastard. _She thought.

He probably thought it was her last ditch effort to escape but she was not that hopeful; not anymore. Now Sakura could do nothing but resign her fate; with no inhibitors to her memories it was theirs for the taking.

* * *

It started off, easy; easy for an integration. There were questions thrown at her by the stern man called Ibiki and pain when no answers were forthcoming. By her count it had been close to 12 hours and Ibiki was becoming crueler with each passing second.

_Too bad I grew up with Orochimaru; this is a walk in the park. My pain threshold is unbelievable high._

Even with Sakura's vision streaked with blood and her body throbbing she would not break. She looked to the mirror across the room from her, knowing on the other side sat an audience, one of which was probably her capture, the white-haired-ojisan along with a bunch of old self-righteous hags.

She snarled at the mirror. _Might as well make this a good show! Those bastards should just kill me_

"What is your relationship with Orochimaru?" Ibiki's voice roared.

She spit blood at him barring her red tinted teeth, "Nothing; I am more intrigued on what yours is. You are quite the fan boy of his work." She bit back.

Apparently that was not the answer he was looking for and before she knew it she was in some sort of summons; trapped in some medieval torture device within a metal cage.

The questions continued: Who she was; Her relationship with Orochimaru; Who are her parents; What happened during her time with Orochimaru: What she was doing at the base; What Orochimaru's plans were; etc.

The most they got out of her was what Kakashi had managed in the fight with her. They knew her name was Sakura and her skills. To relinquish some pain she did go over the events after her capture but made sure to reveal nothing new. Sakura was a vault and Ibiki knew it.

Despite her resistance she did falter on one particular topic; her presence at the lab in Iwa where she was captured. The flashes of memories were too much for her and it showed on her face. Ibiki broke into the most malicious smile rivaling that of Orochimaru's when he saw her hesitation.

That was short lived, Sakura quickly regained herself and the torture continued. She was not going to relive her time there and she was definitely not going to share it with that sadist bastard Ibiki. Sakura's inability to respond ended with 4 broken ribs and acid to the bottom of her feet followed by a salt rub. The man was good but she was better.

He left her around the 30th hour; she had lost consciences and he needed a new strategy. He entered the connecting room on the other side of the 2way glass where some council members, the Hokage, and to Ibiki's shock Kakashi were. Ibiki turned to the Hokage

"She won't be able to take much more; it would be a waste of perfectly good information if we continue and she dies. Her pain threshold is too great but her body is giving out. From the time spent with her, I can see some weakness involving her time at the lab in Iwa but besides that she has not faltered. I have broken seasoned Shinobi in half the time and effort that I have put into her."

"hmm.." The Hokage responded, taking a puff from his pipe pondering "We shall call Inoichi in to sort through her mind."

Ibiki figured he would decide upon this "But the risks; if she has a fail-safe placed in her mind it could shut down her whole brain or just kill her. Or if Inoichi is able to access her memories it will most likely cause irreparable damage; leaving us without another chance at her information."

"This is a risk we must take." Sarutobi-sama stated. He did not like to cause a child this much damage but it was necessary; Orochimaru had been planning something for years and the old Hokage feared he would enact it soon. He must protect his village and nation no matter the costs, though it still hurt him to have the little girl caught in the crossfire.

"Understood I will get Inoichi." Ibiki stated as he bowed and made his exit.

Kakashi watched listlessly at the conversation between Ibiki and the Hokage, it had been a long 30 hours but he could not leave.

"Hokage-sama" Kakashi interjected

The Hokage looked upon his tired and worn Jonin; knowing that the man would not back down, that he felt the girl was worth saving. "Speak Kakashi, for I am as weary as you."

"Yes sir. I have my mission report." This shocked the Hokage much as Kakashi was known to be extremely late on writing these. "I also want to express my opinion on the matter of Sakura-san if that is alright."

"You may continue." The Hokage had respect for his student's student's student; he was a strategic and well thought man.

"Sakura displays great proficiency in the Ninja arts as displayed in my report. I believe she could be a great ally for the village. From my time spent with her it is easy to tell she was raised if not spent the majority of her life under Orochimaru and is suffering for it but she is still young, she can still be molded."

"I agree with your observations, Kakashi but that is not enough to sway me from going further with this integration; Inoichi Yamanaka will be called in."

"I understand that and though I do not fully agree, I cannot deter it. I am asking you, Hokage-sama to consider after the information is gained to allow Sakura her life." Kakashi finished

"I see." The Hokage took another long drag allowing him to think. "I will take it under advisement and if the situation allows it I will put forth my effort for her to have it. BUT the decision will ultimately come down to a council vote." Kakashi only nods; that is the best he could do for her and he hoped it would help.

When Inoichi finally entered the girl has been fixed up enough to regain consciousness and hopefully survive the next phase of the integration. Sakura is weary of the man before her, she senses that he will be invading her mind before he even says a word. When he does speak he tells her to relax and not to fight it or it will cause damage.

It began; Inoichi used his clan signature jutsu to enter her mind and was soon met with a wall. He had expected as much, Orochimaru would have strengthen her mind against penetration. Inoichi began the process of breaking down the wall and after some time it did crumble.

Inoichi was rewarded with a clip of a memory of a very young pinkette next to a teenage girl with red hair and piercing purple eyes.

"Who is this?" He asked the subconscious to direct the thoughts for him. He was soon met with another snippet of memory; it was in a lab with tubes and larger containers and cages. Yet the girl was not focusing on any of that she was looking at a figure across the room.

As she got closer to the figure it turned to reveal Orochimaru. The memory continued, Orochimaru spoke then, "Girl come here we must sort out another part of your training."

The young pinkette followed orders and the Sannin bent down bringing his eyes to hers. Inoichi stepped back within the mindscape; the Sannin eyes evoking a primal unease within him. The Sannin spoke again "This will hurt, cringe and I will make it worse."

Then the mind was filled with searing pain. Inoichi was surrounded by it and the Sakura of the mind was screaming. Then, a little too late, Inoichi realized what was happening, he had set off a seal. The girl's mind was sealing itself off from him; he would not be able to view her memories and neither would she. If he didn't exit now the seal would kill him, in fact if anyone else had entered her mind it probably would already but Inoichi was no novice and had a few tricks up his sleeve for handling situations like this.

He quickly released the jutsu with an amendment so the seal would not follow him out to his own mind and kill him there. He had to remain calm but Inochi could feel his anger growing; they would get nothing from her. The seal was of the highest caliber and till death or the one who put the seal there released it, the seal would never be broken. She would never be able to reveal anything even if she wanted to.

Inoichi returned to his body and by the time he did recover his senses it was to a scene of chaos. Medic-nin had rushed the girl. The enacting of the seal had flooded the area with a great amount of Orochimaru's chakra as well as a few of his summons that were released from a set of connecting seals on the girl's body.

Medic-nins were trying to revive her while ANBU fought off snakes and a fire. Once the girl regained a heart beat the Medic-nins rushed her to the hospital and within a few more minutes the rest of the threats were neutralized leaving a shocked looking Inoichi.

* * *

"Inoichi, what else have you learned before the seal was enacted?" The Hokage asked. He had taken Inoichi as well as the council members back to his office to go over next steps.

Inoichi then explained the two memories he was able to view before the mind sealed. He stated that the first was an emotional one that had accidently slipped through; he conjectured the seal was supposed to enact right as he destroyed the wall and would have gone straight to Orochimaru's memory trap.

The old men and women of the room pondered this as Inoichi continued. The seal, though advanced, was not unknown to Inoichi since he made sure he was familiar with all those of the mind, even this forbidden technique that originated from Sunagakure.

The seal should allow the girl to remember skills, personality, likes, dislikes, and knowledge. Though it would be edited, it would be as if she was watching a movie and would have no emotional attachments or explanation as to why she liked something or knew something.

Furthermore all knowledge contained around Orochimaru would be gone, if he played a part in her training then she would know the skills but the memory would not be of him but a false one. The seal was a force to reckoned with. Inoichi stated that this is what he believed to have happened but would have to test further when she awoke as there still might be a small chance her original memories still existed; though this was very unlikely.

Expecting to be dismissed by the the Hokage, Inoichi looked to the door but it seemed the Hokage felt the need for his presence as he continued to address the council of 7 elders.

"We must decide what to do with the girl." The Hokage announced as he turned to his council. "If what Inoichi says is true then the girl will never be able to reveal information to us."

Homura Mitokado, Sarutobi-sama's old teammate and council member spoke, "The girl is in a coma and preliminary medical reports are unfavorable if she will ever wake, this problem may just solve itself."

"True." The Hokage shot back. "But Homura if that is not to be we must agree upon what to do with Sakura. From the sentiment expressed I believe you wish for her extermination?"

"Yes" Homura responed not hiding his sneer, "She is of no use to us without her memories and is one of Orochimaru's. She is a threat and could have been placed here as a sleeper spy for him. We must extinguish this fire before it gets out of control."

"Homaru, I understand your hatred for Orochimaru, he has been a cancer to this country for the last 10 years." The Hokage paused and was about to continue when Homaru interjected.

"Hiruzen, you have always had a soft spot for Orochimaru, since he was your former student. He was able to originally get away due to your love of him. I will not have this sentimentality put the village in anymore danger then it already has."

"Homaru!" roared the Hokage, not liking the lack of respect he was getting from his council member. "I shall always live with my shame of the past but I am not a fool to repeat it. Orochimaru will be dealt with, I hold no love for that wayward man anymore.

"To go over your other objections to the girl." Sarutobi- sama continued in a less harsh tone, "She is without her memories but not her skills, Kakashi has written and spoken to me about it. She could be turned into a great asset for the village."

"But there is always a threat of her being returned to Orochimaru's influence since he can break the seal." Koharu Utatane, Hiruzen's other old teammate and councilwoman stated, "Hormaru is correct in thinking she is a sleeper agent for Orochimaru."

The Hokage let out a tired sigh, "Yes this is correct but not certain. I believe there is more to this girl that meets the eye but I do not believe she is a spy. I believe she is of great importance to Orochimaru and he will be distressed at loosing her; this sentiment was also expressed by Kakashi."

"So are we to then prohibit him a resource." Koharu dryly stated, "To taunt him with her existence being under our control now?"

"In a way yes. Even without her memories she still has her skills and thus if we know her range we can glean what Orochimaru used her for. Furthermore if she is truly important then Orochimaru will come for her." The Hokage finished with a drag of his pipe. He did not like to state the situation like this but he must be heartless with his council to get them to agree; he did not want to kill this child.

"Hmm this has potential." Homaru said a hardness to his eyes, "we have been chasing Orochimaru for years but now he will come to us for this girl and then we can finally bring him down on our own terms instead of a surprise attack by him."

"I see that Homaru" Koharu interjected, "but this will bringing unknown threats now on the village. It is also based on the assumption that Orochimaru will come for her. What if she is of no importance to him? Then all this planning will be for naught and we could still be harboring a sleeper agent."

"Then her skill alone should be enough for us to spare her. We could mold her to be a Konoha shinobi." The Hokage answered.

Koharu answered back, "I still agree with Homaru's original sentiments; we should extinguish this flame before it grows into an uncontrollable fire."

The Hokage chuckled, "Koharu, we are fire. We are its will. I believe she could share in this will."

"So you plan to make her loyal to the village then?" Koharu responded in a disbelieving tone.

"Yes." The Hokage easily answered. "This is all conjecture till she awakens and we asses her memory. Till then we are in agreeance then; the girl will live and be trained as a Konoha shinobi."

The council was unenthused but did see the logical into keep her alive and thus agreed. The only dissenting vote was Koharu; the motion passed 6 to 1. Sarutobi-sama noted that Danzo Shimura had stayed uncharacteristically quiet the whole discussion and had voted to keep her alive.

_Odd very odd. Danzo should have wanted to kill any threats to the village, he would usually have sided with Koharu. What could this mean? _The old Hokage would have to ponder this later.

"Fine" stated Koharu "Then how do you suggest we have her become loyal to Konoha?"

A small smirk tugged at the Hokage's lips. "Enroll her in Konoha Academy."

* * *

After the council had left the Hokage turned to Inoichi, who had stayed quiet the whole time knowing it was not his place to talk. "Go home to your family; you will be called if and when she wakes up."

With a nod Inoichi then left. Sighing loudly the old Hokage messaged his temples. "Kakashi you can come in now."

The man silently entered through the window where he had perched listening the entire time.

"Are you in aggreeance with me, Kakashi?"

Kakashi, though his pasture exuding a lazy and apathetic vibe did not match his lone eye that shone with intent "Yes Hokage-sama. Though do you think it wise to tempt the snake?"

"I may be old but I am no fool; Orochimaru will be handled. We are increasing security as we speak; as well as gearing up the tactical unit to plan the perfect trap for the snake." The Hokage spoke with an edge of tiredness. He made his way to his desk before continuing. "There is something more to this girl; Kakashi I want you to watch her. I sense she will not be in this coma for long." The Hokage took another drag.

"Is that wise sir? She holds some animosity towards me."

"Then watch from the shadows if you must. You are dismissed; get cleaned up and rested you will relieve her anbu guard tomorrow."

_The village is strong, we will preserver past Orochimaru. Sakura is strong, I can see the will within her. _The Hokage thought as he sat behind his desk to handle the paperwork that built over the last 2 days.

The Hokage would have to alert the Fire president and congress to these new threats but that could wait till morning. Even if the president did not agree, this was a Shinobi matter and fell under the Hokage's domain, thus the president had no say in the fate of the girl. Though knowing the president, he would try to force his agenda on the Hokage as well as not be pleased about the news of Orochimaru.

_I am getting way too old for this job. _The Hokage thought as he poured over the stacks of paper littering his desk. He knew the headache was just beginning; that the future would hold much strife now that they decided to keep the girl.

* * *

Sakura had been unconscious for a week already and Kakashi was becoming irritable; he hated hospitals. He avoided them at tall costs even when he was at death's door. Now he was forced to watch a sleeping pinkette in one.

Kakashi was rarely in the actual room, he spent most of his time outside in a tree looking in on her. Even though he was not in the building just the proximity to that death reeking structure gave him a would have pawned off this babysitting task to one of his 4 member anbu squad he was a captain of if the Hokage had not specified that only he was to watch the girl.

_If only I could have Tenzo do this instead of me. He can never say no. _Just the thought of his Kohai's resigned face brought a smile to the copy-nin. Sighing he flipped another page in Icha Icha Violence; at least he could catch up on his reading.

Kakashi had entered the room earlier after the nurse left to look over the girl and her charts; she was doing better and showed almost normal brain activity but they were still uncertain if she should ever wake.

Kakashi was going to give it another week before he would request to be reassigned. This job was newbie anbu grunt work not long standing anbu captain's mission. Kakashi had been an anbu captain at age 16; it was unheard of especially since the average age to join anbu was 24 and 28 for captains. Kakashi had made captain after only a year in anbu; he was a bit of a prodigy if he listened to any of the rumors.

Looking up from his page he felt a spike in chakra, the girl on the bed opened her eyes for the first time in a week. Wasting no time he summoned Pakkun to alert the Hokage and grab Inoichi. Though Kakashi could just call he was a bit old fashioned in his ways, plus the Hokage was terrible with working phones.

* * *

Sakura's head was pounding; like someone had set off C4 in her mind. Everything was disorienting she was confused to where she was. Doing a quick sweep of the room through her half closed eyes, she noted it was obviously a hospital room, though she couldn't recall why she knew that. Her hands and feet were restrained to the bed with chakra cuffs but she surprisingly had a little chakra coursing through her.

_Must have let me have some to speed up the healing. But who? And Where? And What? Ughh my head._

**_Calm down! _**A voice in her head yelled back.

_What?! _Sakura responded back. _What is going on? Am I going completely mad? Why am I talking to myself!_

**_Look I am going to make this short seeing as you are pretty slow on the uptake currently. I am your inner. _**The voice in her head apparently her "inner" responded impatiently.

_My inner?_

**_Let me finish! Your inner you. You had a seal placed in your mind and I was awaken to help with the damage it caused. To help you sort through and organize things since you technically have no memories._**

_Okay… So a seal? I don't remember anything… but wait ouch…. Why is it..?_

Then something happened she was flooded with memories. She saw her capture, from what? Who knew, her detainment and torture. A white haired man, a yellow one with blue eyes and a stern looking one. Everything from her capture up was coming back to her but it was like watching something on TV, it did not feel like that was truly her.

_I don't understand_

**_Just let the memories flow in, don't fight it. The seal was only for everything up to your capture but everything past it is free game. _**

Sakura watched as the abstract horror of her torture befell the memory of her. The questions asked gave her clues as to where she was and why she was here and what fate would quickly be delivered.

_Since I have no memories of what they want they will probably kill me, right?._

**_Probably. But I am not going to let that happen. If you die, I die and I am sure as hell not in the mood after I finally get a chance after such a long time of being forced dormant. So we are breaking out of this dump!_**

_Wait before we escape; what do you mean dormant? Aren't you a product from this seal Orochimaru gave me? _As she spoke his name, even internally her whole body was overcome with a painful shock.

**_Don't, even if you think his name it was aggravate the seal. To answer your question; no I have always been with you. Sadist snake man sealed me when you were a little kid once he realized I resided in you but this new seal broke my old one so thus now I am here and thankfully so. This new one is quite powerful if I wasn't here to negate some of its affects you would probably be in a coma till your death. Just avoid anything that will aggravate it; like snake man. _**

_This is a lot to process. I will leave that till later. First and foremost we need to get out._

**_CHA! That's what I like to hear, let's go!_**

As Sakura moved to try to break the restraints the door opened revealing a yellow hair man; the one that had previously invaded her mind.

"I see some recognition in your eyes but I will reintroduce myself for you. I am Inoichi Yamanaka and I am here to assess your new seal." Inoichi stated in a kindly voice, hoping to sooth a shocked looking pinkette.

"I see and what is my fate if my memories are to be still sealed?" Sakura shot back not wanting to play this little game of cat and mouse.

"Well seeing as you can recognize me it seems they are not sealed." Inoichi stated dryly staring down the pink girl in front of him with a crucial eye. Doing a 180 of his attitude from his entrance.

"Ah, I see. I hate to break it to you but the last thing I remember was your face so lucky you." The pinkette spat back, meeting his eyes in a staring competition

"And what is the first thing you remember?" Inoichi shot back nonplussed.

"Aw that would be an Oji-san with a bad attitude and one eye that had a condescending tone. I was by some mountains and he had just pinned me…" The girl trailed off forgetting her combativeness as she focused on the memory. Her inner was staying quiet and assessing the situation.

"I believe you mean Hatake-san" Inoichi offered. Outside of the room and up a tree Kakashi wore an incredulous look at how the girl described him.

"Sure whatever one-eyed Oji-san is called. Anyways I don't think I have what you want." Sakura had decided that she would rather die than go through more torture though her inner was telling her by saying the opposite it bought them more time to escape.

"I will be the judge of that. I am going to access your mind like before so sit back." Inoichi moved over and went through the correct seals placing his hands on her temple. The two anbu that had entered with him watched on cautiously.

When he entered into her mind this time it was a lot easier and the wall was no longer there but as he suspected what he told the Hokage of what the seal could possible do was correct. Inoichi saw doors labeled skills, concept, knowledge, and memories but the memories started with Kakashi.

Sakura's inner kept herself hidden, noting her presence would probably get Sakura killed for sure; there still may be a slight chance they spare Sakura and her inner did not want to ruin it for her. Though she did make use of herself and hid away all the memories that pertained to the inner's existence as well as a few skills the inner did not want Konoha to know about just in case they needed it as a trump card to get away.

Inoichi accessed Sakura's skills and found what he feared. All her memories of training had been moved to the abstract; meaning it looked like she was fighting a faceless dark figure in a white room full of nothingness; the seal was competent in its eradication of Orochimaru.

Letting out a sigh Inoichi went through her skills and whatever she had left in her brain to be thorough. The only thing he did find interesting was her medical ninjutusu skills were tucked away in an obscure place and she looked decently competent. The inner cursed at that, she thought she hid them better.

Inoichi tested out her mind by trying to lead it to Orochimaru only to be met with sharp pain by the seal. He could hear the girl letting out a scream. The girl was completely clean and well protected. Exiting her mind he saw a pinkette withering in pain under his hands.

"Sorry about that, had to check the seal's strength. It seems even the mere mention of the Sannin's name will bring about an immense pain from the seal; it is quite impressive."

"Glad it is so impressive." The girl said in a strained voice, trying to fight the waves of pain. Her inner was hard at work helping.

"Well now that we have confirmed that you have no memories". Inoichi began.

_Great now it's time for the 'we are going to kill you segway'. _Sakura thought darkly.

"Welcome to Konoha. I would like to introduce you to the person that will help get you settled." Inochi finished pointing to the door but Sakura was not paying attention. She was still caught on what he said.

_They aren't going to kill me? I am not going to be tortured? WHAT. THE. HELL. What are they playing at? Am I now a prisoner or what..?_

**_Shut up and pay attention to what the old blondie is saying. We will analyze later. FOCUS!_**

At that moment Sakura looked up to find a man in his early to mid- twenties twirling a senbon between his teeth. He looked unhappy to be in the room and to be in charge of settling the pinkette.

"Sakura this is Shiranui Genma and he will help you get settled and show you around the village. You will start in Konoha academy next week." Inoichi stated with a serious but light voice.

Sakura stared hard at Genma, "Pleasure to meet you Genam-san. What was this about academy?" Her voice lacked all kindness and bordered on threatening.

_What the hell is happening?!_

* * *

**PLEASE REVIEW!**

**I decided to instead of a long drawn out explanation about the new shinobi society that this chapter was originally I would sprinkle it over the next few and focus more on the story. **

**NEXT Chapter: The Reveal- Who are you to me?- who is Sakura really and why was she living with Orochimaru? **

**Review and tell me your guess! I want to see what everyone thinks.**

**Feelings towards Genma? I wanted him in the story but I want to see how others feel towards him.**

**Also- I have more fun writing this story so I think I can start updating every 2 weeks (hopefully) **


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